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It has been a rough couple of weeks. Seems like somebody is a little to busy to write their good ‘ol buddy Craig. But I’ll be the bigger person and wish them congratulations on taking home a chunk of CCDev 2 money.

But it got me thinking: Theres a lot of other engineers out there that don’t get the rock star treatment we aerospace engineers do. Day in and day out they punch a clock to make our world a better place in virtual anonymity. There is one group I’m thinking of, we see their work every day and yet they go on without gratitude. Who are they?

Packaging Engineers

Unless you built it from materials you harvested, or grew it yourself, you owe these men and women a debt of thanks. Packaging Engineers (PEs) are responsible for knowing a wide range of subjects like, material science, industrial engineering, advertising, logistics, 3D rendering, and a plethora of other topics.

Common Craig, anybody can build a box right?

PE’s do a lot more than just boxes and crates. They also need to know how to fit products inside a container, how that container must hold up to its environment, and the ergonomics of someone using that container.

Take for example a dresser we just bought at IKEA (Really anything in IKEA is a perfect example) not only did the entire dresser come in a single box, but that box included all the tools and fasteners I needed. Think you know how to collapse a 5’x4’x2’ piece of furniture into a 5’x2’x1’ box? Can you then figure out a simple way to reassemble said furniture in such a way that anyone can do it? Yeah, didn’t think so.

Let’s face it, nearly everything we buy has to come from somewhere else. PE’s are the one responsible for making sure we get our stuff on time and intact. Their job may not be as flashy as professional blogger/rocket scientist; but it’s not hard to see that they are equally, if not more important.

Here’s to you sultan of the sachet, captain of the container. Thank you, for thinking not just inside or outside the box, but about the box itself.